Hello everybody,

It's been a while since my last column, I can't believe the season is over and it is NEC show time again. I've been on the Suzuki stand at the show and got the chance to meet Atsushi Watanabe, his English isn't great at the moment but by the time he gets into the BSB paddock I'm sure he will be fine.

I can't wait to get out on my Superbike; I've had one run out on the Relentless by TAS Suzuki TT Superbike from this year. We had a test on it and we did the Sunflower race on it too, so I've got a basic feel for how the 1000cc Suzuki is but in a fairly standard trim.

Hopefully when the boys at the workshop get stuck into it and put it into full BSB spec, next time I ride it will feel a totally different animal. They are working on that at the moment at the workshop; there is a lot of work going on hopefully they will have it ready mid January so we can test end of January or early February.

It depends how fast all the parts are coming through from Suzuki and the other suppliers. Most of the work is going on in the workshop and I'm just getting into shape now. I had started my training in early November but then I went to Macau for ten days so that put a halt to that. I hope to start back into it next week and get stuck in right through the winter.

I definitely need to do a bit of work, the 600 was good this year I was in pretty good shape but I didn't need the same strength that I needed for the Superbike the year before so I'm going to have to work on building up my upper body again. I know what to do and I've done it for a few years. I understand what is needed for me, I just need to get stuck in and put the effort in and hopefully we will reap the rewards next season.

We haven't set any test dates yet because if we do that and then the parts don't turn up, then it ends up a disaster. We are basically playing it by ear at the minute seeing how fast we can get the bikes built and then we will make a schedule as soon as we realise we are ready to go. There is no point going too soon when you haven't got all the parts to test then it is a waste of time.

We will wait until we are good to go and then we will hopefully do two or three circuits in one stint and see how we are fixed after that. We need to spend a lot of time on it to learn the bike and the new 600 for my team-mate Ian Lowry so we need about ten days in Spain. We'll see what the schedule is like when the new season comes round.

The plan at the minute is to get stuck in now right through December, train hard up until Christmas. Then me and my girlfriend are talking about going on a bit of a holiday for a week over the New Year and then get back and get stuck in through January and hopefully be ready for testing then in February.
That is all I have to report at the moment. Have a good Christmas and I'll catch you all again in the New Year!

Michael